The celebration of Easter is indeed a high note in the Christian calendar. Easter celebrations in Bermuda have, over the last several years, mushroomed into distinctive features both secular and religious. The cultural attributes akin to Bermuda include hot cross buns, fish cakes and kite flying, which originated in China around the 5th century BC.

It is correct that our celebrations begin with the traditional Palm Sunday services, after which comes Good Friday and observance of the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.

I shall take a little walk down memory lane and reflect upon the cultural traditions I experienced while growing up on the seashore of Herman’s Bay in Sandys Parish some 90 years ago. I was one of eight children of which my mother, Marie Philip, engaged in all of the cultural activities and other folklore prevalent at that time. She made the traditional hot cross buns and fishcakes on Good Friday along with some Hoppin John, the colloquial term for peas and rice, and local fried fish. She also made ginger beer, an old-time favourite of ours and of other Bermudian families. Our favourite desserts included homemade gingerbread with peaches, and cake with homemade loquat jam.

On Easter Sunday we often attended the Sun Rise Service at Fort Scaur followed by our regular worship service at Allen Temple AME Church on Soundview Road. The church was often adorned with flowers and crosses which depicted the crucifixion of Christ. Thereafter, we would go and place Easter lilies on the graves of past family members buried at St James Church. Our Easter Sunday dinner included the traditional cassava pie which my mother usually baked during the Christmas period.

These are some of the traditions that I passed down to my children, which they still practise today. By virtue of time constraints placed upon the average household today, most of these traditions are practised — but with a different twist. As most parents have full-time jobs, most modern-day families purchase our traditional foods from our local supermarkets and commercial bakeries.

There is nothing more distinctive than kite flying during the Easter season. I must make a humble confession and say that I have never ever made a traditional Bermuda kite in my entire life. Unlike my brothers, I did not possess the aptitude or skill and, it was a tradition that I was unable to pass down to any of my seven children. It is somewhat rare for an individual of my generation to make such a confession but, I hasten to say that it would not be somewhat unusual today, as most of us now rely on the local professional kite makers to perform such a sterling task. There are a host of kite-flying competitions that continue to take place throughout the Island during this season, one of which takes place on Good Friday at Horseshoe Bay Beach; thousands of residents and tourists partake in this venture.

As a young child during the 1930s, my mother would accompany me and my brothers and sisters to the Easter Parade. This was the iconic Bermuda parade, where the floats were decorated with fresh flowers. The parade included a number of marching bands — the Somerset Brigade Band and the North Village Band were among them. The Scottish Pipes and Drums and usually, a United States military band that was either stationed or visiting at the former United States Naval Base were also involved. The Easter Parade was a distinctive cultural feature which lasted for nearly a period of 40 years and was formally disbanded in 1968 due to civil unrest. It was a large tourist attraction for many visitors that travelled from the East Coast of the United States.

There are a host of added features that have now become a part of the cultural fabric of our Easter celebrations. One in particular is the Palm Sunday walk organised by the Bermuda National Trust. And, for nearly two decades the various churches and denominations in St George’s conduct the re-enactment of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary.